十字 (shí zì) — cross (shape); cross-shaped

Definition

noun

cross (shape)cross-shaped

Measure word · 个

Examples

，。
Qián miàn yǒu yí gè shí zì lù kǒu, wǒ men yào zhí zǒu.
There is a crossroad ahead; we should go straight.
十字。
Tā huà le yí gè shí zì.
He drew a cross.
十字。
Zhè tiáo mǎ lù shì shí zì xíng de.
This road is cross-shaped.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

十shíten

字zìcharacter

十, the character for ten, and 字, meaning character, combine to refer to the cross-shaped form.

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

The early shape 十 was mostly a single vertical stroke, sometimes with a dot, and later gained a horizontal stroke to form a cross. For the number ten, it marked the next digit above one.

Open 十 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

宀子字

Meaning part形符xíngfú

宀宀miánroof

Sound part声符shēngfú

子

子zǐ字zì

Same sound today

字 pairs 宀 (roof) with 子 (child); 子 gives the sound, while 宀 relates to the meaning.

Open 字 →

Appears in